Effenbert Liberty Ducati's Jakub Smrz has ended the first day of World Superbike Championship action at Donington Park on top after pacing first qualification.
The Czech rider, who was little more than a lap shy of his first WSBK victory at the circuit last year when he was caught and passed by Marco Melandri, struck to the front with less than five minutes remaining to edge out Jonathan Rea by six hundredths of a second.
Despite his pace, Rea concluded his session with an off after dropping his Honda at turn ten, the second time today that he has endured a costly fall.
Another rider to touch gravel today, Carlos Checa recovered to third fastest on the Althea Ducati, while Leon Haslam completed the overnight front row to be classified as the fastest of the local riders.
That status had looked set to be assumed by Leon Camier for much of the session as the FIXI Crescent Suzuki held down the fastest time for much of the session. Nonetheless, despite dropping to fifth, he remains just three tenths off the ultimate pace.
Having set the pace in free practice, Tom Sykes slipped to sixth best in Q1 with a similar lap time, while Italians Michel Fabrizio, Max Biaggi, Davide Giugliano and Ayrton Badovini rounded out the top ten, the latter bouncing back from an earlier crash.
Behind them, Sylvain Guintoli, Marco Melandri, Chaz Davies, Hiroshi Aoyama, Maxime Berger and Eugene Laverty hold down provisional Superpole entry positions, while Peter Hickman needs to potentially find just half a second in Q2 to cause an upset.
Outside the top sixteen, Loris Baz ended his first day as a factory Kawasaki rider in 20th, while David Salom-substitute Gary Mason was 23rd and slowest aboard the Pedercini Kawasaki.
1. Jakub Smrz CZE Liberty Effenbert Ducati 1098R 1m 29.336s
2. Jonathan Rea GBR Honda WSBK CBR1000RR 1m 29.394s
3. Carlos Checa ESP Althea Ducati 1098R 1m 29.507s
4. Leon Haslam GBR BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1m 29.604s
5. Leon Camier GBR FIXI Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 1m 29.614s
6. Tom Sykes GBR Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 29.719s
7. Michel Fabrizio ITA BMW Italia Goldbet S1000RR 1m 29.918s
8. Max Biaggi ITA Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1m 29.973s
9. Davide Giugliano ITA Althea Ducati 1098R 1m 29.977s
10. Ayrton Badovini ITA BMW Italia Goldbet S1000RR 1m 29.986s
11. Sylvain Guintoli FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 1m 30.225s
12. Marco Melandri ITA BMW Motorrad S1000RR 1m 30.245s
13. Chaz Davies GBR ParkinGO MTC Aprilia RSV-4 1m 30.392s
14. Hiroshi Aoyama JPN Honda WSBK CBR1000RR 1m 30.522s
15. Maxime Berger FRA Effenbert Liberty Ducati 1098R 1m 30.539s
16. Eugene Laverty IRL Aprilia Racing RSV-4 1m 30.577s
17. Peter Hickman GBR FIXI Crescent Suzuki GSX-R1000 1m 30.904s
18. Lorenzo Zanetti ITA PATA Ducati 1098R 1m 31.035s
19. Niccolo Canepa ITA Red Devils Ducati 1098R 1m 31.199s
20. Loris Baz FRA Kawasaki Racing ZX-10R 1m 31.625s
21. Mark Aitchison AUS Grillini Progea BMW S1000RR 1m 32.003
22. Leandro Mercado ARG Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 32.806s
23. Gary Mason GBR Pedercini Kawasaki ZX-10R 1m 34.084s
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